Vietnam Morning News For April 26

Gov’t announces borrowing plans, limits for 2018
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has announced the Government’s plans on borrowing, repayment and borrowing limits for 2018.
— Bizhub

3 Vietnamese cities to be in Asean smart cities network
Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang in Vietnam will be part of the Asean network of smart cities being proposed by Singapore, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday.
— The Straits Times

Surge in production and exports boosts Vietnam’s economic expectations
Fueled by a continued surge in local production and exports, Vietnam is forecasting strong growth beyond its expectations for the entire year, making it the fastest-growing economy in the region.
— Nhan Dan Online

Việt Nam rice exports face uncertain Q1
Việt Nam’s rice exports faced an unpredictable first quarter this year, increasing in January, declining in February and recovering in March, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
— Viet Nam News

Finance ministry to dismantle hundreds of tax departments
The Ministry of Finance (MOF) plans to reduce the number of its nationwide tax offices from 548 to 257, under its new scheme to streamline the taxation, customs, and state treasury units.
— Nhan Dan Online

Foreign players heat up mobile payment market
The mobile payment market in Vietnam has heated up and attracted many local consumers in the first months of the year thanks to the participation of China’s two largest e-wallets of Alipay and WeChat Pay as well as Samsung in the service.
— The Hanoi Times

Vietnam promotes seafood exports to Europe
Vietnamese aquatic products are being introduced at the Seafood Expo Global, the biggest event of its kind in the world, which takes place in Brussels, Belgium, from April 24-26.
— Nhan Dan Online

Seaport development must sail alongside logistics growth
Ho Kim Lan, director general of the Vietnam Sea Ports Association, talks to Hai Quan (Customs) newspaper about conditions for logistics development in Vietnam.
— VietnamNet Bridge

Chinese businesses sign strategic watermelon contract with Vietnam
The Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Commerce and Quang Ngai Province, jointly organized the “Quang Ngai conference for the retail and marketing of watermelons and other high-quality agricultural products”.
— Fresh Plaza

Digital storm sweeping through banking industry
EY’s Global Banking Outlook 2018 shows that 85 per cent of banks name the implementation of a digital transformation programme as a business priority for 2018.
— VietnamNet Bridge

VN firms cosy up to Asia-Pacific partners
Vietnamese enterprises must band together with their Asia-Pacific partners for stronger growth.
— Bizhub

Bamboo Airways to open 40 new routes
FLC Group plans to open 40 local and international routes after its carrier, Bamboo Airways, becomes operational, said Dang Tat Thang, General Director of the airline.
— VietnamPlus

Is it easy to make money from Vietnam’s coffee market?
Both Vietnamese and foreign investors are rushing to pour money into coffee farms and coffee house chains as the market is very promising. But not all of them will succeed.
— VietnamNet Bridge

Hoa Phat Dung Quat steel complex to be operational in Q3
The process of the Hoa Phat Dung Quat iron and steel production complex project is on schedule with the first line expected to be operational in the third quarter of this year, meeting demands of the central and southern regions.
— VietnamPlus

Vietnam leads Southeast Asia in IPO market
Vietnam has been Southeast Asia`s biggest IPO market over the past year and the market seems to be revving up.
— The Hanoi Times

Vietnam among world’s top 10 remittance recipients in 2017
Vietnamese workers living abroad sent home $13.8 billion last year, keeping the country among the 10 biggest remittance beneficiaries, the World Bank said in a new report.
— VnExpress

Convenience stores: more are being opened, but many are closing
While many retailers have expanded their convenience store chains, others have had to scale down their networks because of ineffective operations.
— VietnamNet Bridge

IFC likely to extend $100m debt to Vietnamese lender TPBank
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private lending arm of the World Bank Group, has proposed to extend a financing facility of up to $100 million to Vietnamese lender Tien Phong Commercial Joint Stock Bank (TPBank).
— DealStreetAsia

Key stocks rebound, fueling VN-Index’s recovery
The stock market regained calm on April 24 after a nosedive on the previous day to end at 1,080 points thanks to the recovery of key stocks.
— VietnamPlus

Singapore, Vietnam sign six agreements to boost cooperation
Singapore and Vietnam have signed a suite of agreements that will see both countries working together in areas such as financial innovation and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) development.
— Channel NewsAsia

Exclusive: Japanese PE ACA Investments to raise debut $100m Vietnam-focused fund
Japanese private equity (PE) investor ACA Investments, which has been deepening its play in Vietnam with about four investments so far, is now set to take a bigger bet on the frontier market with its debut $100 million Vietnam-focused vehicle.
— DealStreetAsia

More South Koreans Are Learning Vietnamese. Why?
In a county where learning English and getting a good test score on it is essential for basically everything from seeking a job to getting promoted, an increasing number of people are flocking to learning a less familiar language: Vietnamese.
— The Diplomat

Feature photo Lucas Jans

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Vietnam morning news by AEC News Today is your one stop source for Vietnam news on matters of governance and policies affecting Asean business communities. It is published M-F by AEC News Today: Governance, not government; policies, not politics.